In a span of 24 hours, hundreds of thousands of people signed up to see Pope Leo XIV during his upcoming visit to Paris. The pontiff will visit the capital on September 25 and 26, as part of a four-day apostolic tour of France that will also take him to Lourdes and Metz. The Stade de France leg of the trip has stirred the most excitement among young people, with a prayer vigil scheduled for people aged 17 to 35.
The Catholic Church in France has seen a significant decline in the number of priests ordained, from 65,000 in 1960 to 12,000 in 2023. However, baptisms among adults and teenagers have surged from just under 6,000 in 2022 to over 21,000 in 2026. Catholic influencers on social media have played a part in this rise, preaching the gospel to a new generation. Brother Paul-Adrien, a Dominican Catholic monk and influencer, has amassed 678k subscribers on YouTube, 383k on Instagram, and 404k on TikTok.
Paul-Adrien's videos are edited with flashy graphics and meme clips, lending a touch of humor to his hot takes on popular topics. He has fine-tuned his content to fit the platform he preaches from, making him hugely popular among young people. According to David Douyère, a professor at the University of Tours and expert in religious communications, Catholic influencers have definitely played a part in the renewed interest in the Church in France.
Sister Albertine, a member of the Chemin Neuf community, is another popular Catholic influencer. She began posting behind-the-scenes videos to show what her life was like as a nun and explain her role within the Church. Albertine insists that she didn't become a nun for fame and doesn't look at her stats or followers. Her goal was to debunk clichés about how nuns live and answer questions on Catholicism.
Father Benoît Pouzin, a priest in southwest France, began posting videos on TikTok and Instagram two or three years ago. His videos are either prayers his followers can join in on or educational bites, such as a "powerful prayer to combat evil" or an explanation of "why we go to Mass every Sunday". Pouzin urges his followers to "leave the virtual world" and "go meet their local priest", emphasizing that human connection is essential.
The Catholic Church has welcomed digital communication for a long time, dating back to Pope John Paul II, who embraced the internet as a "new forum for proclaiming the Gospel" in 2002. Catholic influencers have been around for about a decade, with a boom in online presence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Successive lockdowns and health measures made it near-impossible for public Masses to take place, so Catholic figures turned to social media to continue preaching.
The Vatican organised a special event for Catholic influencers last year in July, marking a formal recognition of their role in the church. Around a thousand "digital missionaries" were invited to the Holy City, alongside the Youth Jubilee in Rome, a weeklong celebration that brought together tens of thousands of young pilgrims from around the world. However, there is a tension with the Church, as influencers derive their legitimacy from their followers, rather than operating under a formal mandate.
Key points
- Catholic influencers have played a part in the rise of adult and teenage baptisms in France.
- Hundreds of thousands of people signed up to see Pope Leo XIV in Paris, amid a surge in interest in the Church.
- The Vatican has formally recognised the role of Catholic influencers in spreading the faith.
